Mark Kelly: “I rise to being attention to one of the concerns I have with this bill. To be specific, I was very troubled to find that…”

“I rise to being attention to one of the concerns I have with this bill. To be specific, I was very troubled to find that the conference report being considered today includes language which restricts funding for the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI). When this bill first came to the floor in June, it included language which prohibited funding for the Natural Resources Conservation service (NRCS) from being used for the American Heritage Rivers Initiative. I offered an amendment to strike this language out, and it was adopted with unanimous support from this body. In light of this body's support for my amendment--and the fact that no such similar language was in the bill passed by the other body--it is difficult to understand why the conferees found it appropriate to include the restrictive language in the conference report. As I have noted on the floor in the past, I understand that some enmity exists for the American Heritage Rivers Initiative by those who feel that the initiative represents an intrusion of the federal government into local affairs. Though I'm confident that an examination of AHRI's record will show that their concerns are entirely unfounded, I will not attempt to dissuade my colleagues from their opinion. These Members had the opportunity to protect their communities from this phantom threat when the initiative was implemented, having been given the power to veto the involvement of their districts in AHRI.”